1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to a bicycle seat providing comfort during both leisure and high performance riding.
2. Description of Related Art
Note that the following discussion refers to a number of publications by author(s) and year of publication, and that due to recent publication dates certain publications are not to be considered as prior art vis-a-vis the present invention. Discussion of such publications herein is given for more complete background and is not to be construed as an admission that such publications are prior art for patentability determination purposes.
Methods and devices for providing comfortable seats and/or seats that do not adversely affect a bicycle rider's health are known. Suspension bicycle seats and seats with cutouts intended to prevent damage to a rider's body, particularly in the groin area, have been designed and marketed. The common approaches to providing comfort and safety in bicycle seats is to soften the padding and/or remove rigid structures from the area where the rider comes into contact with the seat, or to remove the portion of a seat that most often comes into contact with the more delicate portions of a rider's body. Suspension systems such as springs are also employed.
For example, the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,626 (to Katz) discloses a ring-shaped, padded seat with no nose or suspension apparatus. U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,184 (to Barnes) discloses a seat with a suspension system and no nose. U.S. Pat. No. 620,946 (to Meisselbach) discloses a seat with a resilient frame and a movable nose. U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,606 (to Granzotto) discloses a fairly conventional seat with a nose that is movable at a downward angle. U.S. Pat. No. 575,509 (to Newell) discloses a ring-like and spring-like seat frame with no nose.
The typical approaches to designing a comfortable, safe saddle are often suited for leisure bicycle riding but offer no advantage, and are often a hindrance, to high performance riding. Typical designs used for high performance riding, on the other hand, provide little comfort. There is a need for a suspension bicycle seat that is well suited for both leisure bicycle riding and high performance riding that can provide enhanced comfort without detracting from high performance efficiency.